Diver from Japan has become best friends with a fish for 25 years

It is common to see dogs and cats as pet to people. Their warm and adorable features make a great companion to human but what about sea creatures? Believe it or not, a Japanese diver has befriended a fish for over 25 years. This might sound surreal and fictional but it is the reality!

It all first began when Hiroyuki Arakawa was in charge of taking care for a sacred Shinto’s shrine which is called torii.

Unlike typical shrines which are surrounded by lush greens and calming environment, this shrine is located underwater down beneath the surface of Japan’s Tateyama Bay

Hiroyuki has been maintaining the shrine for over a decade and now he knows every sea creatures that live nearby the shrine. This includes an Asian sheepshead wrasse fish which resembles a flowerhorn named Yoriko.

Their close friendship has been captured in a viral video which shows Hiroyuki’s custom of greeting Yoriko with a kiss

A scientific study shows that this fish species is able to recognise human face. In the study, scientists show two pictures of two different individuals to the fishes. “They are trained to spit at which picture that shows face they are familiar with,” said Dr. Cait Newport from University of Oxford in an interview with CNN.

Surprisingly, the fish can still recognise familiar face even when the pictures are changed to black and white and added with some obvious changes on the face with an accuracy of 86%.

Prior to this study, scientists thought that only mammals, birds and reptiles have feelings. However, they have yet to prove whether fishes do this consciously or not.

Nevertheless, this study proves that Hiroyuki and Yoriko’s friendship can definitely happen in real life and is truly inspirational!

Every time Hiroyuki meets Yoriko, he will give a sweet kiss on its forehead

Hiroyuki said Yoriko would immediately appear whenever he tends to the underwater shrine. He said that the greeting is what keeping the friendship between them going strong for the last two decades.

What do you think of their friendship? Certainly this proves that humans and animals can co-exist in the same place and develop friendly relationship with each other. We hope their friendship will last forever.